Sunday, March 31, 2013

A shadow is temporary – fleeting - here for a moment, then
gone for ever. A shadow cannot exist unless there is light and substance, and
yet of itself is the absence of total light. A shadow cannot be sensed unless
there is a sensor, and for there to be a sensor there must be intelligence.

Man is like a shadow – here for a moment, then gone for
ever. He cannot exist without light and substance, and of himself he has
partial light. Unlike a shadow he has intelligence and life. In his brief
moment he glimpses the shadow and knows there is light.

Without light there is no life and there are no shadows;
there is nothing but darkness and death.

Light is energy and eternal and without light nothing can
exist. Light overcomes darkness and brings life.

John 1:1-5 ‘In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God.

All things were made
through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not comprehend it.’

Saturday, March 30, 2013

A gaff cutter is a fore and aft sailing vessel that has one
mast, and a gaff that supports the mainsail. She has two or more foresails:
typically a staysail, jib and perhaps a flying jib. A good many gaff cutters
have bowsprits, particularly older classic yachts.

The photos here are of gaff cutters that I’ve featured in five previous
postings. (See links below.) Four more links take you to brokers’ web sites where gaff cutters are for
sale.

The main advantage of a gaff cutter is the ease with which
she can be made to sail herself, especially to windward. The natural tendency
for a boat when sailing to windward is to luff into the wind. By slightly backing
the jib and easing the mainsail, the helm can be neutralized so that the boat will
steer herself, but it’s a good idea to attach bungees to the tiller to help
maintain a course. If she bears off, increased wind pressure on the mainsail
will push her stern to leeward, bringing the boat back on course; if she edges too
far into the wind, the backed jib will push the bow to leeward; thus the boat
will weave to windward. Obviously, this is not the most efficient way to sail,
but it does give the helmsman a break. In fact, if the wind is steady and the
sea state doesn’t unduly change, the yacht will sail for hundreds of miles in
this fashion.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Yesterday morning Ray Clark and his team at BBC Essex,
during the Breakfast Show, joked about potholes on the County’s roads. In fact,
it’s not really a matter to be taken lightly, because lives could be at risk,
particularly those of cyclists who may have to dodge potholes and find
themselves in the path of a motor vehicle.

With hilarity and banter to fill in time, the breakfast presenters
discussed a real life game they had devised which involved avoiding potholes when
driving to work. They couldn’t make up their minds what to call the game, but
came up with four possible names: Car Bingo, Tyre Bagatelle, Pothole Bingo and
Dodge the Pothole. I got the impression they favoured the last, which is the
most descriptive.

A 'wincer' with a grating

The idea of the game is to get to work with an intact score
of 10. In other words if ‘players’ manage to avoid every pothole by dodging
them, they arrive at work with full marks. If they clip a pothole they lose ½ a
point; if they go over a ‘standard’ pothole they have to dock a full point; if they
are unfortunate enough to clash with a ‘wincer’ (a large pothole) they forfeit 2 points, and
finally if they blunder into a ‘shredder’ (an enormous pothole) they suffer a
loss of 3 points!

I’ve got a feeling they will suffer more than that, as I did
this morning when driving my car home after shopping. There were twin potholes
just before a turning off the main road. Fortunately, I had slowed down on
making my approach to the turning; otherwise there could have been damage to
the springs of the car. Certainly, I felt judders as my car’s tyres failed to
absorb the impacts.

A half-an-hour later when I walked the footpath by the twin
potholes I observed a road maintenance man was measuring the depth of the
holes. Someone had obvious reported the situation. I can only hope thatrepairs to the road will speedily be done.

Links

IPlayer Ray Clark BBC Essex 27th March, 2013

(To listen to Wednesday morning’s banter click this first
link and move the curser to position 32.00)

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I was perusing Paul Mullings’s blog, ‘I’ve Been Thinking’ at
http://flounderman.blogspot.co.uk/?view=timeslide#!/when I noticed a link pointing to ‘Shannon
One Design’. This took me to a YouTube series of videos about the building of a
traditional clinker Shannon One Design racing dinghy. (See the first 3 links
below.) The videos show Jimmy Furey building one of these boats. I think you will
agree with me that it is a privilege to be invited into his workshop via the
videos entirely free of charge. I also think you will admire his craftsmanship,
which is a wonder to behold.

Back in 1920 F. Morgan Giles of Teignmouth was commissioned
by representatives of three Irish yacht clubs, Loch Ree, Loch Derg and North
Shannon, to design a one design racing dinghy suitable for a crew of three. The
result was a lively 18 foot open clinker boat with a relatively narrow beam of
4 feet 10 ½ inches, sporting a single gunter-rigged sail with an area of 140
square feet.

Over the years, nearly 170 of these dinghies have been built,
and they continue to be built today by local craftsmen such as Jimmy Furey.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

On 3rd February, 2013 I wrote an article about
Roger Taylor’s, ‘Mingming’. I included three links to Amazon.co.uk giving
details of three of his books. What I didn’t mention was that they are also
available for Kindles. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a Kindle
App free of charge from Amazon, suitable for your computer or your iPhone or an
equivalent smartphone.

Last week I handled a paperback version of Roger’s ‘Voyages of
a Simple Sailor’ and immediately I wanted my own. Being a cheapskate I looked
at Amazon where I discovered I could get it for less in e-book format for my
Kindle - not a lot less I grant you, but it was immediately available for my
own gratification.

Now that I have read the Kindle version I wished I had paid
the extra for the paperback! Handling a book is so much better than simply
seeing words on a computer screen. If you buy your own copy you’ll be getting
three books in one, because it is divided into three stories: Shipwreck,
Capsize and Calms. I won’t spoil it by making a précis of each story, but if you
are into sailing and cruising I thoroughly recommend you treat yourself to a
good read.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

According to my dictionary, alacrity is a cheerful
readiness, promptness or willingness, and that sums up the essential character
of my friend’s boat which is a 19’ Alacrity. I met her for the first time last
Monday when he proudly introduced her me. She was snugly settled in the mud by
Walton Yacht Club, tethered to four mooring lines. As I looked at her she
reminded me of a faithful cocker spaniel waiting for her owner to take her for
an adventure.

Essentially, she’s a day sailer, come small coastal cruiser
for a crew of two. She actually has three berths, but I feel she would be crowded
when cruising with a complement of three. Nice touches are her furling
headsail, slab reefing main, twin backstays and mast tabernacle. She has two
Tufnell winches mounted on the coamings for working the foresail. She has the
security of a pulpit and sensible anchor stowage on the foredeck for easy
deployment. Two cabin top ventilators provide fresh air for the crew when they
are down below. A twin butane stove mounted almost amidships on the port side
is handy for cooking and for making hot drinks.

I’ve been invited for a sail on the Alacrity, and no doubt
when I get back from my forthcoming cruise with ‘Sandpiper’, my ‘C’ Type West
Wight Potter, I’ll be able to sample the delights of my friend’s boat.

Friday, March 22, 2013

You can find a very good summary of the history of the ‘James
Stevens No 14’ lifeboat by clicking the second link below.

Additional websites under the Links heading add significant
information to that given in my article* of 16th August, 2010. (Part
1)

This historic lifeboat designed in 1807 started life as a
pulling and sailing vessel, but in 1906 she was fitted with a 40 hp Blake
petrol engine. She is the oldest surviving lifeboat in the world to have been powered
by an engine. At 42.98’ LOA she would have been more than a handful to row.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I have previously featured* this Spray Class Yawl. This time
I have close-up detailed photographs. She appears to be a fairly accurate
replica of Joshua Slocum’s original 36’ 9” wooden gaff yawl, except she is a
Ferro cement boat. Her deckhouse structure is similar to the original, but she
has a little less freeboard. Her solid construction and heavy displacement
should give her crew an easy motion at sea. I would be interested to learn if
she can do as Slocum’s ‘Spray’ did, that is to sail for hundreds of miles with
her helm lashed.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I have already written two articles about ‘Skylark’. (See
links below.)

For some reason I have an obsession with this very unusual
one-off junk-rigged yacht. Two days ago I saw her again; this time she was out
of the water so that I could see her underwater lines. They were very much as I
had imagined when first seeing the boat afloat, i.e., she has a deep, long keel
and firm bilges. Had she been beamier, she would have been less tippy, and had
she had a wide transom, that also would have helped reduce her tendency to roll,
particularly when on the run. You might say, “How do you know this without
sailing her?” I’ve sailed boats since the age of 13, and I’m in my late seventies;
therefore I have a pretty good idea as to how she will perform. She will be a beastly
pig of a boat!

She has the unfortunate feature of very high, slab-sided
topsides. These raise the centre of gravity, making her less stable than a boat
with lower topsides. High topsides also increase windage. Hence, with no sail
set, the sides of the yacht will act as if they were sails. Because of this she
will range on her mooring or anchor warp. Her heavy mast will contribute to a pendulum motion,
particularly when she is at anchor, and undoubtedly this will be aided by her
internal ballast which is mainly set at the waterline.

She doesn’t have an engine; therefore she relies on a yuloh
for manoeuvring within a marina and for propulsion when there is no wind.
Exactly where one attaches the yuloh to the stern of the yacht is a mystery.
There is no provision for a rowlock or a universal joint mechanism for locating
the shaft of her yuloh or sculling oar.

Her rudders are a pain. They are held in place by rope
lashings which are inadequate for supporting them. If she had been a beamy
light displacement yacht there would have been some merit in having twin
rudders. The only possible advantage with the present setup is that if one is
lost, there is another with which to steer the yacht.

I have said some pretty uncomplimentary things about this
unique vessel, and yet she continues to lurk in my mind as a creature with which
I have an obsession. If only I could dismiss thoughts about her, life would be
more comfortable. She’s a bit like one of those black spots that float around
in ones vision; wherever you look to avoid seeing the spot, you just cannot get
rid of it!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Now that I have a smaller boat I no longer have a use for my
WavEco 7 foot inflatable dinghy. My ‘C’ Type West Wight Potter is no bigger
than many sailing dinghies; therefore she can be treated as such, which means I
can beach her if need be for getting ashore. On the other hand, there may be a
few occasions when it may be better to leave her at anchor or on a mooring. To meet
those situations I shall look around for a smaller alternative inflatable dinghy
or canoe.

Meanwhile there is no point in keeping my WavEco in the house
loft – far better to sell her and let her be useful to another person. To that
end I have put her up for auction at Ebay.co.uk. Key in the following number
into the Ebay search box: 160993298020.

For more information, also have a look at previous articles
I’ve written about my WavEco by clicking the links below.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Back in October* I had a rant about prices of foodstuff at
TESCO. I noticed that prices appeared to be rounded up; Quote: ‘instead of an item being £1.43, allowing for a fair
profit margin, it is labelled at £1.50.’

Chile

Brazil

Today I am ranting about TESCO’s
sourcing of fruit and vegetables. Yes, from a health point of view it’s great
to eat ‘five-a-day’, but at what cost to the environment? I love eating fruit,
and I find it hard to resist what is on offer at my local TESCO. If fruit from
faraway countries was not on their shelves I would not have a choice whether to
buy it or not. One thing is sure, people in the UK are buying fruit and
vegetables grown in countries such as Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Chile, Brazil,
South Africa, Morocco and a little closer to home, Spain. Mostly, these fruits
and vegetables are transported by plane, the exception being bananas which are
mainly shipped as frozen cargo aboard vessels designed for that purpose.

Honduras

Jamaica

Years ago we did not have this
option of buying fruit out of season. If we wanted to eat apples during the
winter or spring we had to harvest them in the autumn of the previous year,
wrap them in newspaper and put them in the loft where they would remain cool
and sometimes be frozen by the cold of winter. Generally lofts were not
insulated as they are today, and freezers were unheard of in the home. At Christmas there was the exception of being
able to buy oranges that were shipped from Spain. Bananas were not readily
available, especially in the mid 40s when Jamaican bananas were decimated by
Panama disease.

Spain

Today,
we have a choice: Do we buy and eat fruit that has been imported from far away
countries, or do we accept that we can do without our ‘five-a-day’? We could,
of course, take vitamin tablets instead, but they may not be as nutritious or
health-giving as fresh fruit. A high proportion of the latter is composed of
fibre, which we are told is good for digestion. However, in this respect, are
we being duped into thinking ‘five-a-day’ is the ONLY health-promoting way of
eating?

How
about looking at Zoe Harcombe’s article in the Mail Online** which says there
is a better diet for more healthy living?